AFTER a very wet weekend and as we launch into winter, it is safe to say that soup season has well and truly arrived.

While fresh is always best, there is also a growing number of fresh soup options in the supermarket that tick a number of key nutritional boxes.

Not only is consuming vegetable/broth-based soup linked to both calorie and weight control, but soup is the ultimate nutritional boost especially when based on nutrient rich vegetables and good quality stock.

In an ideal world, we would all cook our own pot of delicious soup each week but the truth is that making a large batch of soup, which you do not always get around to eating, can be expensive and time consuming.

So, if you do need some quick and easy soup options to grab on the run, here is a summary of the different types, and some of the best choices nutritionally thanks to their vegetable, sugar, sodium and protein contents.

PACKET SOUPS

Packet soups or ‘Cup of Soups’ are the cheapest and most processed soups which simply require you to add water for a low calorie, powdered soup that is quite salty and does not offer much nutritionally.

The new La Zuppa range is significantly better from an ingredient perspective, but you would argue that in general packet soups are not an overly nutritious food option. In general anything with 600mg sodium or more per serve is high, and some varieties may also use MSG (621) as a flavour enhancer.

As a general rule, soups found in tetra packs tend to be better options nutritionally as they require fewer additives to keep them fresh and textured. Look for options that contain plenty of vegetables and less than 20g total carbs per serve or the soup becomes a meal.

Again be careful of the sodium amounts as these can be as high as 1300mg per serve or more than half your upper daily recommended limit.

The bowls in particular tend to have the highest levels of sodium and again, the fewer the ingredients, the better and La Zuppa Pouches (not bowls) which are also gluten free are the standout nutritionally.

The nutritional quality of canned soups differs significantly with some containing plenty of sodium and fillers and others packed with high levels of protein (less than 10g) and vegetables so you are always best to go back to your labels. Canned foods will always contain more sodium than fresh foods.

With the exception of the La Zuppa Tetra range, fresh soups tend to be the pick of the bunch for both clean ingredients and veggie content.

Check your labels though as a number have pasta and rice to bulk them up and you are always better to spend on vegetable and protein content rather than high carb options to get the most out of your soup.